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Blanchard Community Library celebrated a century of community service at a special gathering Saturday. A City Council resolution was presented to Library Board President Suzi Skutley (above) by City Councilman Ralph Fernandez. Also pictured (l-r) Councilman Gabino Aguirre, Vice Mayor Fred Robinson and Librarian Dan Robles. (Inset) Those attending the event were treated to tables of food and a special lemon birthday cake. (Photos by Brian D. Wilson) |
Blanchard Community Library: A century of community service celebrated
March 12, 2010
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Blanchard Community Library celebrated a century of community service at a special gathering Saturday that drew more than 100 supporters who enjoyed a wide-ranging program.
BCL Board President Suzi Skutley was handing out programs to those who braved a quick but intense storm to attend the event, which featured musical entertainment by the Harmony Channel barbershop group singing songs popular when the library opened March 1,1910.
Friends of the Library President Pat Alderson, Centennial Celebration chairperson and a former longtime BCL Board Trustee, welcomed the crowd. She thanked library personnel, board directors, volunteers and “all of you citizens who give us great support,” including the BCL Endowment Board of Directors.
Attending the event were Vice Mayor Fred Robinson, Councilmen Dr. Gabino Aguirre and Ralph Fernandez, and Supervisor Kathy Long.
Librarian Dan Robles said that namesakes of Nathan Weston Blanchard (who with his wife Sarah founded the library), Nathan W. Blanchard IV and Nathan W. Blanchard V were in attendance, as were John Blanchard and Betsey Blanchard Chess.
“There would not be a Blanchard Community Library without the Blanchard family,” said Robles, who began his career with the library as a volunteer 44 years ago. “We want to remain the center of the community,” he noted, for another century.
Blanchard Community Library, said Long, has been a “benchmark of the community” for 100 years, and remains the “heart of the community” still garnering strong loyalty and support.
“Without your support,” Fernandez told the crowd, “Blanchard Community Library could not exist.”
Robinson said that, like many, he has strong childhood memories of the library. Even as a “poor kid you could travel the world” using a handheld device that showed scenic slides.
The library, said Aguirre, is “the repository of all knowledge and culture” of the city.
John Blanchard offered insights into the life of Nathan Blanchard, first noting, “I’m so honored to be a member of the Blanchard family, and I don’t take the legacy and heritage lightly.”
A native of Maine, Blanchard originally came to California in about 1854 during the Gold Rush, hoping to strike it rich and continue his “dogged pursuit” of education by financing high school and college. Though mining proved less lucrative than anticipated he became a success, was elected to the State Assembly, and with his wife came to Santa Paula in 1872.
A tragic note was the loss of the couple’s 5-year-old son Dean Hobbs Blanchard in 1870. The library was originally named for the boy, and was created in exchange for the city closing two saloons.
Blanchard became a founder of not only the City of Santa Paula, but also Limoneira Company. His great-grandson noted, “It is lucky his life twists and turns brought us here.”
Chess said her first memory of the library was when she was 7, brought by her mother, the late Elizabeth Blanchard who was a longtime BCL Trustee. “I remember marching up those stairs,” of the original Carnegie-style building. Two years later when Chess became seriously ill and bedridden, “I remember Sarah Eliot Blanchard coming to read to me every day.”
Going through her late mother’s belongings gave Chess and her brother the opportunity to realize and appreciate the accomplishments of their ancestors. “Thank you Great-Grandfather Blanchard,” said Chess, “thank you from all of us.”
The Blanchards donated $13,000 for what is now one of only 12 independent libraries in California, and Robles said BCL’s first year budget was $5,800, now about $688,000 for the fiscal year.
When the library moved from its corner of 8th and Main streets Carnegie home more than 40 years ago, Robles said he and other high school students formed a chain to pass the books to the new library, the former site of a grocery store located close by.
Robles thanked the library’s “very, very dedicated staff,” both past and present, and noted the support of the community through a special property tax that helps fund the library. “I dare you to come in and not see a welcome smile,” from those who work at BCL.
Endowment Fund Directors and founders Carl Barringer and Ed Beach told some of the history of the nonprofit formed to help supplement library funding. Director Alan Atmore said “interested citizens” who wanted to ensure BCL a permanent source of income formed the group in 1984.
Robles noted the Friends of the Library, which is sponsoring the yearlong centennial program, are celebrating their 45th year of library support and fundraising, including their twice-annual book sales.
The program ended with the singing of “Happy Birthday” to the library and a cake celebrating the 100 years of community service offered by BCL.
Later, BCL Board President Suzi Skutley said she was “pleased and excited by the great turnout for our library’s birthday party. It’s wonderful to see all the people who love our library as much as I do.” And Skutley hopes “they continue their support, and come enjoy the yearlong celebration as we mark this special milestone in our library’s history.”
